Increasing competition in the provision of communication services is a world-wide trend. In the United States, competition has evolved to the point that many communication services can be obtained from a number of different communication service providers. For example, basic long distance services and business oriented services, such as sophisticated outbound calling programs, may be obtained from numerous communication service providers. In fact, in terms of long distance services, devices such as PBXs ("private branch exchanges"), in addition to devices described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,904 ("the '904 patent"), have the ability to change service providers in real time depending, for example, upon the most cost efficient rate. However, there is no analogous competition among residential local access carriers. For example, each person living in New Jersey that desires residential telephone service is forced to use the services of the same local access provider. There simply is no choice.